1912 VFL season
| 1912 VFL Premiership season | |
|---|---|
|
Premiership player Paddy Shea | |
| Teams | 10 |
| Premiers |
Essendon (4th premiership) |
| Minor premiers |
South Melbourne (2nd minor premiership) |
| Matches played | 94 |
| Highest attendance | 54,463 |
| Leading Goalkicker Medallist | Harry Brereton (Melbourne) |
|
← 1911 1913 → | |
The 1912 Victorian Football League season was the 16th season of the elite Australian rules football competition.
Premiership season
In 1912, the VFL competition consisted of ten teams of 18 on-the-field players each, with no "reserves", although any of the 18 players who had left the playing field for any reason could later resume their place on the field at any time during the match.
Each team played each other twice in a home-and-away season of 18 rounds.
Once the 18 round home-and-away season had finished, the 1912 VFL Premiers were determined by the specific format and conventions of the amended "Argus system".
Round 1
| Home team | Home team score | Away team | Away team score | Venue | Date |
| Essendon | 17.14 (116) | University | 6.6 (42) | EMCG | 27 April 1912 |
| Carlton | 9.16 (70) | Geelong | 4.7 (31) | Princes Park | 27 April 1912 |
| St Kilda | 6.10 (46) | Richmond | 7.11 (53) | Junction Oval | 27 April 1912 |
| South Melbourne | 7.5 (47) | Fitzroy | 4.10 (34) | Lake Oval | 27 April 1912 |
| Melbourne | 9.14 (68) | Collingwood | 5.9 (39) | MCG | 27 April 1912 |
Round 2
| Home team | Home team score | Away team | Away team score | Venue | Date |
| Richmond | 5.8 (38) | South Melbourne | 2.23 (35) | Punt Road Oval | 4 May 1912 |
| Geelong | 13.15 (93) | St Kilda | 6.11 (47) | Corio Oval | 4 May 1912 |
| Collingwood | 6.17 (53) | Essendon | 10.10 (70) | Victoria Park | 4 May 1912 |
| University | 8.12 (60) | Melbourne | 10.8 (68) | MCG | 4 May 1912 |
| Fitzroy | 5.11 (41) | Carlton | 9.10 (64) | Brunswick Street Oval | 4 May 1912 |
Round 3
| Home team | Home team score | Away team | Away team score | Venue | Date |
| Fitzroy | 7.14 (56) | Geelong | 5.6 (36) | Brunswick Street Oval | 11 May 1912 |
| University | 9.9 (63) | Richmond | 6.12 (48) | MCG | 11 May 1912 |
| South Melbourne | 6.18 (54) | Melbourne | 3.4 (22) | Lake Oval | 11 May 1912 |
| St Kilda | 12.21 (93) | Collingwood | 4.12 (36) | Junction Oval | 11 May 1912 |
| Essendon | 8.11 (59) | Carlton | 6.14 (50) | EMCG | 11 May 1912 |
Round 4
| Home team | Home team score | Away team | Away team score | Venue | Date |
| Geelong | 11.12 (78) | Melbourne | 5.5 (35) | Corio Oval | 18 May 1912 |
| Carlton | 6.9 (45) | Collingwood | 6.10 (46) | Princes Park | 18 May 1912 |
| University | 3.13 (31) | St Kilda | 7.14 (56) | MCG | 18 May 1912 |
| Richmond | 9.6 (60) | Fitzroy | 13.8 (86) | Punt Road Oval | 18 May 1912 |
| South Melbourne | 8.8 (56) | Essendon | 9.8 (62) | Lake Oval | 18 May 1912 |
Round 5
| Home team | Home team score | Away team | Away team score | Venue | Date |
| St Kilda | 5.5 (35) | South Melbourne | 7.8 (50) | Junction Oval | 25 May 1912 |
| Fitzroy | 8.11 (59) | University | 4.8 (32) | Brunswick Street Oval | 25 May 1912 |
| Essendon | 7.7 (49) | Geelong | 7.10 (52) | EMCG | 25 May 1912 |
| Collingwood | 10.12 (72) | Richmond | 6.4 (40) | Victoria Park | 25 May 1912 |
| Melbourne | 8.2 (50) | Carlton | 5.14 (44) | MCG | 25 May 1912 |
Round 6
| Home team | Home team score | Away team | Away team score | Venue | Date |
| Fitzroy | 11.12 (78) | Melbourne | 10.6 (66) | Brunswick Street Oval | 1 June 1912 |
| Carlton | 12.15 (87) | St Kilda | 6.11 (47) | Princes Park | 1 June 1912 |
| University | 5.8 (38) | South Melbourne | 9.16 (70) | MCG | 1 June 1912 |
| Richmond | 10.10 (70) | Essendon | 13.14 (92) | Punt Road Oval | 1 June 1912 |
| Geelong | 13.13 (91) | Collingwood | 2.15 (27) | Corio Oval | 1 June 1912 |
Round 7
| Home team | Home team score | Away team | Away team score | Venue | Date |
| Collingwood | 10.13 (73) | University | 4.12 (36) | Victoria Park | 3 June 1912 |
| South Melbourne | 13.15 (93) | Geelong | 8.13 (61) | Lake Oval | 3 June 1912 |
| St Kilda | 6.10 (46) | Fitzroy | 8.7 (55) | Junction Oval | 3 June 1912 |
| Melbourne | 8.6 (54) | Essendon | 16.12 (108) | MCG | 3 June 1912 |
| Richmond | 7.8 (50) | Carlton | 17.17 (119) | Punt Road Oval | 3 June 1912 |
Round 8
| Home team | Home team score | Away team | Away team score | Venue | Date |
| Melbourne | 14.14 (98) | Richmond | 4.9 (33) | MCG | 8 June 1912 |
| Geelong | 8.15 (63) | University | 3.8 (26) | Corio Oval | 8 June 1912 |
| Essendon | 6.19 (55) | St Kilda | 10.6 (66) | EMCG | 8 June 1912 |
| Collingwood | 13.10 (88) | Fitzroy | 11.7 (73) | Victoria Park | 8 June 1912 |
| Carlton | 8.16 (64) | South Melbourne | 6.10 (46) | Princes Park | 8 June 1912 |
Round 9
| Home team | Home team score | Away team | Away team score | Venue | Date |
| St Kilda | 2.12 (24) | Melbourne | 7.13 (55) | Junction Oval | 15 June 1912 |
| Richmond | 4.16 (40) | Geelong | 7.12 (54) | Punt Road Oval | 15 June 1912 |
| Fitzroy | 3.7 (25) | Essendon | 8.8 (56) | Brunswick Street Oval | 15 June 1912 |
| South Melbourne | 4.16 (40) | Collingwood | 4.8 (32) | Lake Oval | 15 June 1912 |
| University | 8.10 (58) | Carlton | 10.17 (77) | MCG | 15 June 1912 |
Round 10
| Home team | Home team score | Away team | Away team score | Venue | Date |
| Richmond | 6.6 (42) | St Kilda | 12.14 (86) | Punt Road Oval | 22 June 1912 |
| Fitzroy | 3.10 (28) | South Melbourne | 9.12 (66) | Brunswick Street Oval | 22 June 1912 |
| Collingwood | 6.17 (53) | Melbourne | 6.9 (45) | Victoria Park | 22 June 1912 |
| University | 7.10 (52) | Essendon | 16.24 (120) | MCG | 22 June 1912 |
| Geelong | 12.7 (79) | Carlton | 8.12 (60) | Corio Oval | 22 June 1912 |
Round 11
| Home team | Home team score | Away team | Away team score | Venue | Date |
| Melbourne | 13.14 (92) | University | 5.7 (37) | MCG | 29 June 1912 |
| Carlton | 6.8 (44) | Fitzroy | 4.15 (39) | Princes Park | 29 June 1912 |
| South Melbourne | 19.12 (126) | Richmond | 5.7 (37) | Lake Oval | 29 June 1912 |
| St Kilda | 12.11 (83) | Geelong | 9.14 (68) | Junction Oval | 29 June 1912 |
| Essendon | 6.18 (54) | Collingwood | 6.10 (46) | EMCG | 29 June 1912 |
Round 12
| Home team | Home team score | Away team | Away team score | Venue | Date |
| Richmond | 11.19 (85) | University | 4.4 (28) | Punt Road Oval | 13 July 1912 |
| Melbourne | 0.8 (8) | South Melbourne | 13.8 (86) | MCG | 13 July 1912 |
| Collingwood | 8.15 (63) | St Kilda | 6.4 (40) | Victoria Park | 13 July 1912 |
| Carlton | 10.16 (76) | Essendon | 4.9 (33) | Princes Park | 13 July 1912 |
| Geelong | 10.13 (73) | Fitzroy | 5.10 (40) | Corio Oval | 13 July 1912 |
Round 13
| Home team | Home team score | Away team | Away team score | Venue | Date |
| St Kilda | 15.12 (102) | University | 6.14 (50) | Junction Oval | 20 July 1912 |
| Fitzroy | 10.10 (70) | Richmond | 3.11 (29) | Brunswick Street Oval | 20 July 1912 |
| Essendon | 7.10 (52) | South Melbourne | 9.11 (65) | EMCG | 20 July 1912 |
| Melbourne | 7.12 (54) | Geelong | 5.13 (43) | MCG | 20 July 1912 |
| Collingwood | 3.14 (32) | Carlton | 8.7 (55) | Victoria Park | 20 July 1912 |
Round 14
| Home team | Home team score | Away team | Away team score | Venue | Date |
| Carlton | 4.18 (42) | Melbourne | 5.7 (37) | Princes Park | 27 July 1912 |
| South Melbourne | 14.7 (91) | St Kilda | 7.18 (60) | Lake Oval | 27 July 1912 |
| University | 7.8 (50) | Fitzroy | 12.14 (86) | MCG | 27 July 1912 |
| Geelong | 13.14 (92) | Essendon | 5.10 (40) | Corio Oval | 27 July 1912 |
| Richmond | 6.4 (40) | Collingwood | 10.15 (75) | Punt Road Oval | 27 July 1912 |
Round 15
| Home team | Home team score | Away team | Away team score | Venue | Date |
| South Melbourne | 12.13 (85) | University | 7.5 (47) | Lake Oval | 3 August 1912 |
| Essendon | 10.12 (72) | Richmond | 5.13 (43) | EMCG | 3 August 1912 |
| Collingwood | 7.15 (57) | Geelong | 6.8 (44) | Victoria Park | 3 August 1912 |
| Melbourne | 6.6 (42) | Fitzroy | 6.7 (43) | MCG | 3 August 1912 |
| St Kilda | 6.15 (51) | Carlton | 7.12 (54) | Junction Oval | 3 August 1912 |
Round 16
| Home team | Home team score | Away team | Away team score | Venue | Date |
| Geelong | 4.8 (32) | South Melbourne | 6.15 (51) | Corio Oval | 17 August 1912 |
| Fitzroy | 12.17 (89) | St Kilda | 8.7 (55) | Brunswick Street Oval | 17 August 1912 |
| Essendon | 9.8 (62) | Melbourne | 7.8 (50) | EMCG | 17 August 1912 |
| Carlton | 8.20 (68) | Richmond | 8.11 (59) | Princes Park | 17 August 1912 |
| University | 6.7 (43) | Collingwood | 6.20 (56) | MCG | 17 August 1912 |
Round 17
| Home team | Home team score | Away team | Away team score | Venue | Date |
| Richmond | 9.9 (63) | Melbourne | 11.7 (73) | Punt Road Oval | 24 August 1912 |
| University | 7.8 (50) | Geelong | 12.22 (94) | MCG | 24 August 1912 |
| St Kilda | 15.18 (108) | Essendon | 7.8 (50) | Junction Oval | 24 August 1912 |
| Fitzroy | 9.11 (65) | Collingwood | 4.3 (27) | Brunswick Street Oval | 24 August 1912 |
| South Melbourne | 6.10 (46) | Carlton | 7.10 (52) | Lake Oval | 24 August 1912 |
Round 18
| Home team | Home team score | Away team | Away team score | Venue | Date |
| Melbourne | 9.14 (68) | St Kilda | 7.7 (49) | MCG | 31 August 1912 |
| Geelong | 9.16 (70) | Richmond | 4.9 (33) | Corio Oval | 31 August 1912 |
| Essendon | 7.13 (55) | Fitzroy | 6.13 (49) | EMCG | 31 August 1912 |
| Collingwood | 5.7 (37) | South Melbourne | 7.11 (53) | Victoria Park | 31 August 1912 |
| Carlton | 10.14 (74) | University | 10.9 (69) | Princes Park | 31 August 1912 |
Ladder
| ||||||||||||
| TEAM | P | W | L | D | PF | PA | % | PTS | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Melbourne | 18 | 14 | 4 | 0 | 1160 | 739 | 156.97 | 56 | |||
| 2 | Carlton | 18 | 14 | 4 | 0 | 1145 | 873 | 131.16 | 56 | |||
| 3 | Essendon (P) | 18 | 12 | 6 | 0 | 1205 | 1049 | 114.87 | 48 | |||
| 4 | Geelong | 18 | 11 | 7 | 0 | 1154 | 911 | 126.67 | 44 | |||
| 5 | Fitzroy | 18 | 10 | 8 | 0 | 1016 | 936 | 108.55 | 40 | |||
| 6 | Melbourne | 18 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 985 | 996 | 98.90 | 36 | |||
| 7 | Collingwood | 18 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 912 | 995 | 91.66 | 36 | |||
| 8 | St Kilda | 18 | 7 | 11 | 0 | 1094 | 1090 | 100.37 | 28 | |||
| 9 | Richmond | 18 | 3 | 15 | 0 | 863 | 1333 | 64.74 | 12 | |||
| 10 | University | 18 | 1 | 17 | 0 | 812 | 1424 | 57.02 | 4 | |||
| Key: P = Played, W = Won, L = Lost, D = Drawn, PF = Points for, PA = Points against | ||||||||||||
Finals
All of the 1912 finals were played at the MCG so the home team in the Semi Finals and Preliminary Final is purely the higher ranked team from the ladder but in the Grand Final the home team was the team that won the Preliminary Final.
Semi finals
| Home team | Score | Away team | Score | Venue | Date |
| Carlton | 10.11 (71) | Geelong | 4.19 (43) | MCG | 7 September |
| Essendon | 7.12 (54) | South Melbourne | 6.6 (42) | MCG | 14 September |
Preliminary Final
| Home team | Score | Away team | Score | Venue | Date |
| Essendon | 7.10 (52) | Carlton | 6.12 (48) | MCG | 21 September |
Grand final
Main article: 1912 VFL Grand Final
| Home team | Score | Away team | Score | Venue | Date |
| Essendon | 5.17 (47) | South Melbourne | 4.9 (33) | MCG | 28 September |
Essendon defeated South Melbourne 5.17 (47) to 4.9 (33), in front of a crowd of 54,463 people. (For an explanation of scoring see Australian rules football).
Awards
- The 1912 VFL Premiership team was Essendon.
- The VFL's leading goalkicker was Harry Brereton of Melbourne with 56 goals.
- University took the "wooden spoon" in 1912.
Notable events
- On 27 April 1912, the first issue of the VFL's Football Record is published.[1]
- For the first time, all VFL players wear a number on the back of their guernsey. The number designates the player himself, rather than his position and, in most cases, he plays his entire career with the same number on his back (however, if he changed clubs, his number would also alter).
- University's Round 3 victory over Richmond turns out to be the last win in the club's history. University would go on to lose its next 51 matches (including two winless seasons in 1913 and 1914), a VFL/AFL record, before they dropped out of the competition and folded.
- South Australia defeat Victoria 9.8 (62) to 6.7 (43) in Adelaide on 10 August 1912.[1]
- In a match against Collingwood, Essendon's Dan Hanley was impeded from taking part in a contest for the ball along one of the boundary lines, when a boundary umpire grasped him by the hand. There were no "official" witnesses to this incredible incident, and the boundary umpire went unpunished.
- The captains of the two 1912 Second Semi-Final teams, Alan Belcher of Essendon and Vic Belcher of South Melbourne, were brothers. This is a VFL/AFL record.
- VFL decides to appoint 2 stewards to each match. They have the power to report players.[1] They wear an all-white uniform, with the word "Steward" in red on their breast.[1]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Ross, John (1996). 100 Years of Australian Football. Ringwood, Australia: Viking Books. p. 382. ISBN 9781854714343.
Sources
- Maplestone, M., Flying Higher: History of the Essendon Football Club 1872-1996, Essendon Football Club, (Melbourne), 1996. ISBN 0-9591740-2-8
- Rogers, S. & Brown, A., Every Game Ever Played: VFL/AFL Results 1897-1997 (Sixth Edition), Viking Books, (Ringwood), 1998. ISBN 0-670-90809-6
External links
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